4,632 first-hand accounts of flood events in Iowa, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Heavy rains during the first week of July resulted in the Des Moines River at St. Francisville going above the moderate flood stage level of 22 feet around 4 pm CDT July 5. It crested around 24.6 feet around 7 pm CDT July 6.
Read the full account →Rapid snowmelt from a few day period of well above normal temperatures focused on the 11-13th of April resulted in minor flooding for portions of the Rock River Basin.
Read the full account →A nearly stationary front across the region was the focus for thunderstorms across northeast Iowa during the late afternoon and evening of August 19. Excessive rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches in two to three hours caused flash flooding.
Read the full account →A wet last week of April resulted in saturated conditions and rising stream levels across portions of northwest Iowa. This helped push the Upper Little Sioux River between Milford and Spencer into Minor flood stage at the end of April which continued into May.
Read the full account →A wet last week of April resulted in saturated conditions and rising stream levels across portions of northwest Iowa. This helped push the Upper Little Sioux River between Milford and Spencer into Minor flood stage at the end of April which continued into May.
Read the full account →A wet last week of April resulted in saturated conditions and rising stream levels across portions of northwest Iowa. This helped push the Upper Little Sioux River between Milford and Spencer into Minor flood stage at the end of April which continued into May.
Read the full account →A wet last week of April resulted in saturated conditions and rising stream levels across portions of northwest Iowa. This helped push the Upper Little Sioux River between Milford and Spencer into Minor flood stage at the end of April which continued into May.
Read the full account →A wet last week of April resulted in saturated conditions and rising stream levels across portions of northwest Iowa. This helped push the Upper Little Sioux River between Milford and Spencer into Minor flood stage at the end of April which continued into May.
Read the full account →A wet last week of April resulted in saturated conditions and rising stream levels across portions of northwest Iowa. This helped push the Upper Little Sioux River between Milford and Spencer into Minor flood stage at the end of April which continued into May.
Read the full account →A wet last week of April resulted in saturated conditions and rising stream levels across portions of northwest Iowa. This helped push the Upper Little Sioux River between Milford and Spencer into Minor flood stage at the end of April which continued into May.
Read the full account →Heavy rains from May 12th to May 16th resulted in the Skunk River at Augusta going above the moderate flood stage level of 17 feet around 12 am on May 16. It crested around 17.5 feet around 9 am on May 16.
Read the full account →Heavy rains from May 12th to May 16th resulted in the Skunk River at Augusta going above the moderate flood stage level of 17 feet around 12 am on May 16. It crested around 17.5 feet around 9 am on May 16.
Read the full account →A line of thunderstorms swept across northeast Iowa producing widespread wind damage and flash flooding. The strongest winds were near the Iowa-Minnesota border with hundreds of trees downfrom Mitchell County east into the Decorah area.
Read the full account →A very moist and unstable airmass was in place over Iowa. South winds at the surface into the mid levels drew precipitable water values were in excess of 50 mm over the CWA with 850 mb dew point values reported at +19 degrees C.
Read the full account →The synoptic situation was very similar to what it was the previous day. A complex weather situation was in place due to the convection from the previous night. An outflow boundary extended east to west across northern Missouri.
Read the full account →A somewhat complicated weather situation took shape over Iowa during the day on the 27th. A short wave lifted northeast across the state in the morning and produced a narrow line of thunderstorms. These storms resulted in a boundary from west central into north central Iowa.
Read the full account →Little change took place in the overall weather pattern with a nearly stationary frontal boundary remaining over the state. The morning convection moved off allowing for afternoon solar isolation to take place, destabilizing the atmosphere once again.
Read the full account →A very moist and unstable airmass remained in place over Iowa with CAPE values in the 3000 to 4500 J/kg range and lifted index values around -8 C. A boundary extended nearly east to west across the southern half of Iowa during the day from the previous night's convection.
Read the full account →A similar situation to what was in place on the early morning of the 19th took place during the afternoon and overnight of the the 19th into the 20th. In fact, the thunderstorm activity didn't really end between the two events.
Read the full account →Little change took place in the overall weather pattern with a nearly stationary frontal boundary remaining over the state. The morning convection moved off allowing for afternoon solar isolation to take place, destabilizing the atmosphere once again.
Read the full account →A similar situation to what was in place on the early morning of the 19th took place during the afternoon and overnight of the the 19th into the 20th. In fact, the thunderstorm activity didn't really end between the two events.
Read the full account →Southerly winds drew moisture north into Iowa during the previous 2 to 3 days. In addition, a moisture feed from the remnants of former Hurricane Henriette were drawn north into the state.
Read the full account →Heavy rain-producing showers and thunderstorms moved across eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois during the evening and overnight hours of July 18th.
Read the full account →A strong surge of very moist and unstable air moved into Iowa as a warm front stretched east to west along the Iowa/Missouri border. By the late afternoon hours, MUCAPE was in the 3000-4000 J/kg range with lifted indices between -5 and -8 C.
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